The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp having two lamp housings which are adjacent to each other.
A vehicular lamp such as a rear combination lamp has plural lamp housings which are formed by lenses and a lamp body. A vehicular lamp is known in which such lenses are configured by a so-called joined lens wherein plural lenses of different colors are joined to one another.
Usually, a joined lens 112 is configured in the manner shown in FIG. 6. Flanges 112Aa and 112Ba which extend rearwardly are formed in ends of the lens portions where the two adjacent lens portions 112A and 112B are joined to each other. This joining is performed using the outer side faces of the flanges 112Aa and 112Ba as joining faces.
In the vehicular lamp having the thus configured joined lens 112, when light leakage between lamp housings 116 and 118 which are adjacent to each other occurs, light is emitted while being mixed with color light of a color which is different from a desired one. Therefore, such light leakage must be suppressed to a level as low as possible.
Conventionaly, therefore, a countermeasure such as shown in the figure is taken. A pair of elongated walls 114f and 114g are formed in a border portion 114e between the lamp housings 116 and 118 of the lamp body 114. The elongated walls extend along the inner side faces of the flanges 112Aa and 112Ba, to a position which is more forward than the rear end faces of the flanges. In this configuration, a direct light beam which is directed from a light bulb 122 of the one lamp housing 116 to the lens portion 112B of the other lamp housing 118, and that which is directed from a light bulb 124 of the other lamp housing 118 to the lens portion 112A of the one lamp housing 116, are blocked.
In this configuration, a bottom face 114h is formed in the border portion 114e of the lamp body 114 and between the pair of elongated walls 114f and 114g of the lamp body 114. In the case where the bottom face 114h is formed in proximity to the rear end faces of the flanges 112Aa and 112Ba, when the lamp is not lit, the bottom face 114h can be clearly seen from the forward side of the lamp, through the flanges 112Aa and 112Ba. Therefore, the bottom face 114h is usually formed at a position which is rearwardly separated by some distance from the rear end faces of the flanges 112Aa and 112Ba.
In the vehicular lamp thus constructed, it is difficult to suppress light leakage between the adjacent lamp housings to a sufficiently low level because of the following reasons.
As shown in FIG. 7 which is a detail view of the area VII in FIG. 6, for example, a direct light beam which is directed from the light bulb 122 of the one lamp housing 116 to the lens portion 112B of the other lamp housing 118 is blocked by the elongated wall 114f of the one lamp housing 116, so that suppression of light leakage can be attained to a certain degree. However, a light beam which is emitted from the light bulb 122 of the one lamp housing 116 and enters a portion in the vicinity of the end of the lens portion 112A of the one lamp housing 116 on the side of the joining faces cannot be blocked by the elongated wall 114f on the side of the one lamp housing 116.
Consequently, a light beam which has once entered the lens portion 112A to travel in the lens portion 112A outgoes from the rear end face of the flange 112Aa and then travels in the following manner. The light beam is reflected by the bottom face 114h between the pair of elongated walls 114f and 114g of the lamp body 114, and then enters the lens portion 112B of the other lamp housing 118 through the rear end face of the flange 112Ba of the lens portion. Thereafter the light beam forwardly outgoes from the lens portion 112B. As a result, when the light bulb 122 of the one lamp housing 116 is lit, there arises a light leakage phenomenon in which the lens portion 112B of the other lamp housing 118 slightly gleams.
Similarly, when the light bulb 124 of the other lamp housing 118 is lit, there arises a light leakage phenomenon in which the lens portion 112A of the one lamp housing 116 slightly gleams.
There are cases where the elongated wall 114g on the side of another adjacent lamp housing 120 must be formed as a low wall as shown in FIG. 8, and where the elongated wall 114g cannot be formed. In such cases, a light beam reflected by the bottom face 114h of the border portion 114e of the lamp body, or by the elongated wall 114f on the side of the one lamp housing 116 enters directly the lens face of the lens portion 112B of the other lamp housing 120, with the result that it is further difficult to suppress light leakage.